Most people know that fruits, vegetables, and grains are good for the human body. Decades of medical research have shown that eating a more vegetable-rich diet with less red meat, fried foods, and processed sugar can help reduce some cancer risks and the threat of cardiovascular disease. But new research shows yet another benefit, one that would be expected if Genesis is historically accurate.
In a study published online in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, medical researchers culled through data collected from over 250,000 individuals who participated in three clinical studies, gathering health and diet information. They found that people with a diet of “fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, low-fat dairy products, and whole grains and low intake of salt, sweetened beverages, and red and processed meats”1 had much fewer kidney stones.
The presence of kidney stones is linked to such serious conditions as diabetes and high blood pressure. Since current medications that treat kidney stones have unpleasant side effects, adopting this kind of diet could offer a better alternative.
Further, the plant-product diet matches well with the Genesis record, which records the Creator’s original ideal diet:
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat [food].2
Humanity’s rebellion and disbarment from the Garden of Eden and the subsequent destruction of the widespread tropical conditions that likely existed before the Flood eventually limited mankind’s menu. Perhaps in order to compensate for potential dietary deficiencies, God told Noah and his descendants in Genesis 9:3, after the Flood, that their diet would now include “every moving thing” along with the original “herb bearing seed.”
While people can survive on animal products, a vegetable diet would presumably more closely resemble the original and best human diet. The lower incidence of kidney stones in connection to a more “Edenic” diet confirms this Bible-based prediction.
References
- An apple a day keeps kidney stones away. American Society of Nephrology press release via EurekAlert!, August 13, 2009, reporting on research published in Taylor, E. N., T. T. Fung and G. C. Curhan. DASH-Style Diet Associates with Reduced Risk for Kidney Stones. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. Published online ahead of print August 13, 2009.
- Genesis 1:29.
* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.
Article posted on August 20, 2009.
